Make AI Event Posters Nobody Calls Horrible: A Hacker News Fix

Description and use

A two-pass workflow for AI-generated event posters: first generate background and illustration without text, then compose headline and details in a design tool, applying a single accent color from the image to unify the design and avoid garbled typography.

Problem

AI-generated event posters often look garbled and unprofessional because text is baked into the image, leading to poor readability and brand inconsistency.

Outcome

Posters created with this workflow appear natural, avoid garbled text, and maintain brand consistency, making them suitable for sharing and production.

Workflow

• Generate artwork and typography in separate passes.
• Prompt the image model for background and illustration only—exclude text, logos, and typography.
• Compose headline, date, and venue in a real design tool atop the generated art.
• Extract one accent color from the image and apply it to all text elements for visual unity.
• Export the poster and review it at thumbnail size to catch failures early.

Evidence

By the end of this you'll have a two-pass workflow for AI-generated event posters that doesn't read as AI-generated at all.

Source

The gotcha: let the image model render its own letters and you get the mangled-text look every time, regardless of which model generated it.

Source